'Revenge Quitting,' Employers' Worst Fear, Expected To Peak In 2025

[Passages]

Bryan Robinson, Ph.D.
Contributor
author of Chained to the Desk in a Hybrid World: A Guide to Balance.

The workplace is buzzing about a rising trend known as “revenge quitting,” in which employees express their job frustrations and retaliate against detrimental work trends, initiated by big companies like “stealth sackings.” The business leaders I spoke with expect the “revenge quitting” trend to boil over and become more prevalent in 2025.

What Is ‘Revenge Quitting’?
“Revenge quitting” is the trend of workers fighting back against big business. Employees abruptly leave a job in response to negative experiences such as lack of recognition, burnout or disengagement with workplace culture. Experts say that it’s an inevitable result of a workplace evolution that’s been brewing for years and that rapid technological advancements, coupled with changing generational expectations, are accelerating the shift.

John Scott, head of learning design and strategy of MasterClass at Work, told me through email that weʼve seen “rage quitting”—where employees resort to quitting a job with dramatic flair and without warning—and “rage applying,” where mounting frustration or specific trigger events lead to employees applying to a bunch of jobs in rapid succession looking to land a new opportunity.

Snip
The Glassdoor Worklife Trends 2025 Report finds that 65% of employees are feeling stuck in their current roles. If left unchecked, the report predicts that pent-up resentment will boil over, sparking a wave of “revenge quitting” in 2025.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2024/12/13/revenge-quitting-employers-worst-fear-expected-to-peak-in-2025/?lid=jztwbvln9u7n

[thomski64]

1. this was invented years ago..

...by Johnny Paycheck...

[The Madcap]

2. How about "revenge retirement?"

Maybe when SS is available to me...

[DBoon]

3. Over 100 years ago, the IWW advocated sabotage as a worker resistance tactic

https://archive.iww.org/history/library/Flynn/Sabotage/

[Passages]

5. Great post and link, thank you.

[exboyfil]

4. One consideration is those references are very important

I was shocked at the number (four with two being former supervisors), and all four of them had to do a survey that included narrative questions that I needed for my current job. Two were former employees of where I worked and two were current.

Need to be careful about the bridges you burn unless you have a particular high demand skill. A 60 year old engineer that didn't want to relocate had very options. I was very fortunate.

I have always left my prior employer on good terms. In two of the cases (one of them even being a forced separation) the guard had to let me out of the building because I worked late on my last day. Five professional jobs in my career, and I was forced out of two. Hoping the last one is a planned retirement.

My dad on the other hand was a master of take this job and shove it. He did it many times without having another job lined up. Fortunately he was very good at what he did so he could always get the next job.

[Passages]

6. True.

Cheers to your Dad!